She’d taken her lad – 14 years old – down to Lyme Regis for a bit of fossil hunting. (You know, one of those wholesome, fresh air and learning kind of weekends.)  Anyway, they’d stopped off at the bakery – lad picks himself a fresh croissant. Warm. Buttery. Proper treat. He’s strolling down the beach, pastry in hand, not a care in the world. Then out of nowhere… WHACK. One seagull swoops in and smacks him clean on the back of the head. Before he’s even had time to shout, another one swoops in from the other side and yoink – croissant’s gone. Straight out of his hand. Apparently, he just stood there, stunned, staring at his empty hand, not quite able to figure out what just happened and where his croissant had gone. Like he’d been mugged in broad daylight. Which, to be fair… he had.

Now, once she stopped laughing (which took a while), it got me thinking. That’s life, isn’t it? You plan. You prepare. You pick the perfect pastry. And then life sends a seagull at 30mph to the back of your head and steals it out of your hand. You can do everything right – and still get sideswiped. Whether it’s parenting, running a business or shipping freight halfway across the world.

We’ve all had those “seagull moments.” The unexpected curveballs. The overnight changes. The last-minute delays that throw a spanner in everything.

 In our world of freight, it might be a container that’s gone missing. A port strike in Europe. Or a customer’s goods stuck behind 30 others because someone forgot to tick the right box. And sometimes it’s nobody’s fault. Just like the croissant incident – it’s just life, coming at you sideways.

But here’s the thing. You can stand there fuming, croissant-less… Or you can dust yourself off, get back in the bakery, and find another one. Might not be the same. Might be a sausage roll this time. But you keep moving.

We’ve been in freight for over 35 years now – and if there’s one thing I’ve learnt, it’s this… You’ve got to be ready for the seagulls. Expect the unexpected. Plan hard, but stay flexible. Because it’s not about avoiding problems – it’s about how quickly you bounce back when they land. And hey – next time you’re down the coast with a pastry in hand? Keep one eye on the sky.

How about you? Got any funny seagull moment stories? I’d love to hear them…